Preacher 3.03 "Gonna Hurt" - Review:
Directed by John Grillo & Written by Gary Tieche
The third episode of
Preacher continued the strong start created in the third season of this series in an episode that spent plenty of time with Cassidy and Tulip. Unfortunately, whilst nothing truly mind-blowing stood out from this particular episode,
Gonna Hurt did keep the action tight and exciting, throwing us right into the thick of things with Tulip's conversation with God, who is apparently up and about, wondering around Earth disguised as a man dressed as a dog. It's bizarre, but it's
Preacher, and it's not the first time we've seen him take this disguise before. He looks like the fake God that the characters were introduced to in season one, but he's able to put that off by apparently claiming that it's by design. Like everything is, according to him - all part of God's plan.
It was God's plan to have Tulip intervene and stop Jesse from getting his soul back. It was God's plan for Tulip to always be a screw-up, and thanks to the smart script from Gary Tieche, we get some funny back and forth exchanges between the two characters with Tulip calling bullshit on God only for her to get blasted with his divinity. All he's willing to tell her at the moment is that there is a test coming for humanity, the kind where if they fail, they won't survive. So this gives you a good idea that the season is potentially heading towards the more apocalyptic side of things. It's good to see that Tulip hasn't lost any of her bravado and tenacity since coming back from hell, and as usual, Ruth Negga nails the part, able to exploit the more comedic side of
Preacher' script really well.
Joseph Gilgun is another such actor who can play into the show's more comedic side really well and the trio of leads are just really well cast in general. In one of the show's big game-changing moments so far, TC and Jody end up figuring out that Cassidy is a vampire, and they don't get on with vampires. It's a moment that sees Jesse try to pester Cassidy into leaving Angelville for his own good, but Cassidy is determined to ignore it because there needs to be tension and a story to happen. Cassidy doesn't know TC and Jody like Jesse does, and for all intents and purposes, they seem to be rather friendly to him.
The change of pace from the more heavy-handed Saint of Killers into a quieter villain like Betty Buckley's Gran'ma may be robbing the show of some of its agency but it does create a slow, lingering threat that's dangling over the series and shakes things up rather nicely. Nobody can say that she's a repeat of the villains that the series has used in the past. Buckley is doing a fantastic job at making Gran'ma a menacing character, with her presence felt from the word go.
Cassidy ends up taking up an offer from Gran'ma to make him a love potion for Tulip, as if things weren't going to become more complicated between the two. It's not entirely an ethical decision for Cassidy to make and neither is it a good idea for Cassidy to enter a deal with Gran'ma, but it's clear that Cassidy isn't going anywhere without Tulip and in doing so that puts them both in jeopardy once the secret is out. Jody and TC decide that the appropriate response it string Cassidy up and hang him, but Jesse suggests that putting him in a voodoo fight club would be an ideal situation instead. The ensuing brawl between Cassidy and the teacher who we were introduced to in the last episode doesn't come to a conclusion this week, but it doesn't take much of a leap to suggest that Cassidy will come up on top.
What did you think of Gonna Hurt? Let me know in the comments and be sure to check out the next episode of Preacher, airing this Sunday on on AMC.
